Verbena plant named &#39;Lan Pureye&#39;

ABSTRACT

A verbena cultivar particularly distinguished by purple colored flowers, vigorous growth and low trailing habit.

GENUS AND SPECIES

[0001]Verbena hybrida

VARIETY DENOMINATION

[0002] ‘Lan Pureye’

BACKGROUND OF THE NEW PLANT

[0003] The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of verbena, botanically known as Verbena hybrida, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Lan Pureye’. The new cultivar is asexually reproduced from vegetative cuttings and tissue culture resulting from the cross of the seed/pod parent 98-590-5, a blue proprietary line that is unnamed and unpatented×Temari Purple (PPAF), a purple commercial line.

[0004] ‘Lan Pureye’ is a product of a planned breeding program intended to create new verbena cultivars with purple colored flowers, dark green foliage, vigorous growth and low trailing habit.

[0005] The new cultivar was created in 1999 in Gilroy, Calif. and has been asexually reproduced repeatedly by vegetative cuttings and tissue culture in Gilroy, Calif. over a one and a half year period. The plant has also been trialed at Gilroy, Calif., Litchfield, Mich. and Andijk, The Netherlands. The present invention has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive propagations; and this novelty is firmly fixed.

DESCRIPTION OF PHOTOGRAPH

[0006] This new verbena plant is illustrated by the accompanying photograph which shows blooms, buds, and foliage of the plant in full color, the colors shown being as true as can be reasonably obtained by conventional photographic procedures.

[0007]FIG. 1 shows overall plant habit;

[0008]FIG. 2 shows the mature inflorescence.

DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW CULTIVAR

[0009] The following detailed descriptions set forth the distinctive characteristics of ‘Lan Pureye’. The data which defines these characteristics were collected from asexual reproductions carried out in Gilroy, Calif. The plant history was taken on 22 week old plants grown in one gallon pots, in a double poly-greenhouse under natural light and color readings were taken in the greenhouse. Color references are primarily to the RHS Colour Chart of The Royal Horticultural Society of London (RHS). Texture description details were observed under a dissecting microscope according to The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening (1992).

THE PLANT

[0010] Classification:

[0011]Botanical.—Verbena hybrida.

[0012]Commercial.—Verbena.

[0013] Form: Low trailing annual, decumbent

[0014] Growth and branching habit: Vigorous growing, moderate basal branching; low trailing habit

[0015] Height: From soil level to top of blooms: Approximately 23-25 cm

[0016] Width: Approximately 70-76 cm

[0017] Time to produce a finished flowering plant: 10 weeks.

[0018] Outdoor plant performance: Typical bedding plant culture, full sun in the garden, hanging baskets or container plants

[0019] Time to initiate roots: Approximately 4 days in the greenhouse

[0020] Time to develop roots: Approximately 7 days in the greenhouse

[0021] Root description: Fibrous, fleshy, white

THE LEAVES

[0022] Length: 4.2-4.4 cm

[0023] Width: 2.1-2.2 cm

[0024] Leaf blade shape: Ovate/lanceolate

[0025] Leaf margin: Irregular, crenately incised

[0026] Apex aspect: Acute

[0027] Base aspect: Cuneate

[0028] Foliage color: Upper surface — Green RHS 147A; Lower surface is green RHS 147B.

[0029] Texture: Pilose; heavy on midvein with some glandular hairs

[0030] Venation: Pinnate

[0031] Venation color: Green RHS 145B

[0032] Petiole length: 0.3-0.4 cm

[0033] Petiole diameter: 0.15 cm

[0034] Petiole color: Green RHS 145B

THE STEM

[0035] Length: 45-50 cm

[0036] Diameter: 0.2-0.3 cm

[0037] Internode length: 2.5-4.0 cm

[0038] Color: Yellow-green RHS 144A

[0039] Texture: Pilose (short and long), glandular hairs, some with violet color

[0040] Stem anthocyanin: None

THE BUD

[0041] Shape: Linear

[0042] Diameter: 0.3 cm

[0043] Length: 1.4-1.5 cm

[0044] Color at tight bud: Purple RHS 83B

THE FLOWER

[0045] Blooming habit: Continuous throughout the growing season

[0046] Inflorescence type: Spike

[0047] Spikes per plant: 100-110 in the greenhouse

[0048] Spike diameter: Approximately 4.5-5.5 cm

[0049] Spike depth: Approximately 3.0-4.5 cm

[0050] Peduncle length: 6.0-9.5 cm

[0051] Peduncle diameter: 1.5 cm

[0052] Peduncle color: Yellow-green RHS 144A

[0053] Peduncle texture: Many glandular hairs with violet color, short and long pilose.

[0054] Flower color: Upper petal surface is purple RHS 82A but brighter purple with a green RHS 145B “eye”; Lower petal surface is purple RHS 84A.

[0055] Floret form: Salverform; sessile on spikes

[0056] Floret (limb) diameter: Approximately 1.9-2.0 cm

[0057] Corolla tube length: Approximately 2.3-2.6 cm

[0058] Number florets per spice: 25-33 (closed to fully open florets)

[0059] Number of petals: Gamopetalous, five lobed

[0060] Petal size: Length of one lobe — 0.9-1.0 cm; width of one lobe — 0.8-0.9 cm

[0061] Petal lobe shape: Obcordate

[0062] Petal apex shape: Emarginate

[0063] Petal base shape: Fused

[0064] Petal margin: Entire

[0065] Petal texture: Papillose

[0066] Sepals: Five sepals whose margins are fused to each other along their length with a transparent membrane of less than 1 mm in width with one smaller sepal (5 mm) attached to the base of the calyx.

[0067] Calyx length: Approximately 1.0 cm

[0068] Calyx width: Approximately 2.0 cm

[0069] Calyx shape: Linear

[0070] Calyx apex: Acute

[0071] Calyx color: Yellow-green RHS 143B

[0072] Calyx texture: Short pilose, many glandular hairs with violet color

[0073] Lastingness of individual blooms: Moderate

[0074] Fragrance: None

THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS

[0075] Stamens: Anthers and filaments fused to upper half of corolla tube; four anthers with two pollen sacs per anther.

[0076] Pollen amount and color: Moderate, yellow RHS 4A

[0077] Pistil: One style approximately 1.8-1.9 cm; slightly recurved at the stigma.

[0078] Stigma color: Green RHS 145A

[0079] Fruit seed set: Does not freely set seed but can produce 4 narrow nutlets, approximately 4 mm long; colored grey-brown RHS 199D and enclosed in the dried calyx.

DISEASE AND INSECT RESISTANCE

[0080] Tolerant to mildew

COMPARISON WITH KNOWN CULTIVARS

[0081] When the instant plant is compared to ‘Temari Burgundy’ (PPAF) the ‘Lan Pureye’ has leaves that are much larger than ‘Temari Burgundy’ more flowers per spike and has a flatter, lighter purple colored flower with a lighter colored “eye” while ‘Aztec Dark Purple’ is darker and has slightly ruffled petal margins. ‘Lan Pureye’ has a shorter pilose (pubescence) than ‘Aztec Dark Purple’. 

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of verbena plant as shown and described herein. 